Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Josh Hamilton, an amazing human being

For those of you that know me personally, my guess is if someone asked you to describe me, one of the things you'd say about me is that I LOVE sports. And, you'd be right. :)

It has been a little while since I made a post and I can honestly say that I've thought about writing and never got around to it (wow, that sounds like journaling doesn't it?). Anyway, last evening (July 14, 2008) a young, flawed man really made me smile. This man's name is Josh Hamilton and he is a baseball player in the Major Leagues and his current team is the Texas Rangers.

For those of you that don't know the story about Josh Hamilton, simply do a Google search and I'm sure you'll find something about the man before you will about the player. And if you really want to read something about Josh Hamilton, take a moment to read the article below written by Peter Gammons.

Anyway, what I saw last night was a man who has been through hell and back. Personally, I've never had to deal with anything like what Josh has been through and I hope I never do. He has overcome drug addiction to pick up his life and inspire millions. As he stood in the batter's box at Yankee Stadium and pounded a record 28 home runs in 1 round of the home run derby, I couldn't help but marvel at what he was doing. Sure, the home runs were impressive, but I was more impressed with how we was handling himself. There Josh stood with the entire baseball world watching and he showed them just how great he could be. To me, that's one of the greatest accomplishments he could have considering how many people gave up on him. But what made me smile was seeing this real-life example that Heavenly Father is watching over us and listening to our prayers. Sometimes we simply need to have faith and be patient.

Now, I promised I wouldn't get preachy on this blog and I certainly don't think it is my job. We have far greater men in the LDS Church for that. But I felt compelled to share this story and make you aware of Josh Hamilton. I hope you will take a moment to read about him.

Some people will say his addiction was his own fault and I would say that I agree with you. But I admire a person that makes a mistake and stands up for it and does something about it. So often we can never forgive ourselves for the mistakes that we make and we continue to spiral further down. I can tell you that it is easy to judge and easy to assume, but Josh Hamilton is helping me see just how great all people can be.